CTA Tattler

Try to take an empty seat? "Perverted; felonious; retarded!"

It's barely 7 am on the long Red Line commute to the Loop from Howard. By Argyle, the train car is filling, but the woman in her late 50's is still protecting the aisle seat beside her with the worn, jam-packed messenger bag.

She herself wears a huge head scarf wrapped around her scowling face. At Argyle, a guy in his late 20s boards and immediately eyes the seat, standing expectantly next to it.

"Stop leaning on my seat!" barks the woman.

"I'm waiting for you to move your bag so I can sit down," he explains patiently.

"Move my bag! You're not sitting next to ME!"

"Lady, I paid my $2, and your bag didn't, so your bag doesn't get to ride in that seat for free."

"You don't get to sit next to me, you PERVERT!"

"Oh, please, don't flatter yourself."

"Don't flatter myself!?!" Ohhhh, you get away from me now, you pervert!"

"I'll tell you what lady. I'm going to go over there and sit next to someone who is not crazy!"

"Who's crazy?! I'm not crazy! Imagine, sitting down next to me, that's felonious; that's retarded!"

And no one else tried to sit next to her again.

Ridership up 1%; a Happy St. Pat's Day for seniors

The CTA posted a 1% gain in ridership in 2007 -- an increase of 4.7 million rides to just under 500 million total. That makes 2007 the highest ridership year since 1992.

Bus rides rose 3.6% to 309.3 million rides, while train rides dipped 2.5% to 190.2 million. That drop was expected due to numerous repair jobs and the Brown Line rehab, which forced three-tracking at Belmont and Fullerton stations.

Wearin' the green and keepin' the green. That's what seniors over 65 will be doing come March 17 when free rides on the RTA systems kick in for them. Seniors will have to show their senior reduced fare card, which they can get at outlets posted here.

The RTA is developing a smart card specifically for seniors.

The RTA still expects the free ride program will cost about $30 million. The Trib reported:

It remained unclear how many seniors will take advantage of the free rides. Census figures estimate that about 870,000 seniors live in the metropolitan area. The RTA has issued about 239,000 reduced-fare cards, and many eligible seniors do not take advantage of the program, officials said.

"We expect a surge in that number," [RTA Executive Director Steve] Schlickman said.

Time will tell. Meanwhile, SB 1409 passed the House, but chances are it won't be called for consideration in the Senate. That's the bill that would make sure the free transit program "piggy-back[s] on the existing state "circuit breaker" program, which provides benefits for seniors and the disabled if they meet these income eligibility guidelines: $22,218 for a household of 1, $29,480 for a household of 2, and $36,740 for a household of 3 or more."

My respect for Rep. Julie Hamos continues to grow for her leadership on this issue.

Celling across the car

Two woman in their 20's spy each other across the train car and strike up a conversation -- via cell phone.

Each stands in the opposite doorway across the car, looking at each other and laughing as they exchange pleasantries.

Quite a few passengers surrounding them notice the conversation. Finally the one says, "Well I'm getting off at Belmont. Have a good day at work."

She snaps her Razr shut, chuckles and gives a wave to her pal as she exits at Belmont.

I suppose it's better than yelling across the train car, right?

Reminds me of a previous post about texting another person in the same car. It does have its place.

Here's the latest picture on CTA revenue

Here's a graphical view of CTA revenue for 2008 through 2010 after passage of HB 656 (details here). It's taken directly from CTA President Ron Huberman's report (5.5 mb pdf) to the board last week. In this case, three pictures is worth, what -- 3,000 words?

Four track is back at Fullerton -- at least for a little while

The CTA on Friday put the new track No. 3 into service at the Fullerton El station -- the northbound track now to be used exclusively by the Red Line.

The CTA will use all four tracks at Fullerton for at least a few weeks while they finish the new track at Belmont. Then the focus will shift to the southbound side of Belmont and Fullerton.

But for now, Red, Brown and Purple trains may run a tad faster through Fullerton -- until they bunch up again waiting to use the single track at Belmont. Three tracking started on April 2, 2007. I was one of many warning of "three-track hell," but frankly, it hasn't been all that bad.

And while I'm on the subject of three-tracking, I must give kudos to all the men and women working on this project -- especially those who are outside in this horrid weather of late. Thanks for your efforts!

CTA Tattler shoutout in Time Out Chicago

I’m happy to report that Time Out Chicago magazine has named me as one of Chicago's “Web masters” -- one of four “blogging luminaries with a loyal following” on my CTA Tattler blog.

The latest Time Out issue is all about blogging in Chicago, with some great features and many other cool sites noted. I especially liked the feature on bizarre local blogs.

Here’s the Time Out story on the Tattler, complete with a funky photo of me by Calbee Booth.

Of course, all you folks constitute the “loyal following,” so I owe it all to you! Sniff, sniff . . . . 

Thanks for reading, and let’s hope for some happy trails in 2008.

Live video feeds to beef up security on new train cars

The CTA Wednesday amended a $577 million contract for 406 Bombardier rail cars to add wireless connectivity that will allow live video feeds in every car.

The changes also will add cellular modems to enhance real-time communications with customers via audio and text messages via speakers and six display screens in each car.

In addition, the CTA added anti-stain/anti-microbial fabric for the seats. These new features will cost an additional $26.6 million, for a new total of $603.6 million. Capital funding for this project is provided by the Federal Transit Administration and the Illinois Dept. of Transportation. More details in this CTA press release.

While a final decision has no been made on whether the cars will feature longitudinal seating, a CTA spokesperson said it's likely since seats along the windows provide extra capacity.

The photo here shows one scenario for a door design. And click on the continuation below for a different interior design scheme. There are definite mixed feelings on the longitudinal seating, as seen in the comments on these 2006 posts.

After the Alert: Cold wreaks havoc on CTA trains, buses; more info needed

The first CTA Alert hit my cell phone before 5 am Tuesday: "Due to flooding, #78 Montrose buses rerouted both in directions via Montrose, Lincoln, Irving Park and Ashland."

Then news came about the Damen bus and Montrose station closing because of the huge water main break. (The CTA originally reported the wrong station was closed, but then corrected it.) The subscribers to Tattler's CTA Alerts got the news early and were able to adapt quickly. And we thank the CTA for that.

But the CTA still has been inconsistent about its communications to the wireless text group on emergencies and outages. For instance, we didn't hear a word Monday about the Clark and Lake subway and elevated station closing for another broken water pipe.

And Tuesday morning's commute on the Red Line was backed up due to interlocking problems at Howard Street.

Remember CTA, the more your customers know, the better they can adapt to changing situations, especially in inclement weather. So please open up that information pipeline a little wider.

(Chicago Tribune photo by Nancy Stone / January 22, 2008)

Passenger cooperation at its outer limits

A 30-ish guys boards and sits next to another guy on a train with other empty seats. He shares his hip-hop magazine with his seatmate. And his seatmate shares his knowledge of a diamond bracelet he was selling.

Meanwhile, in the seat in front of these gentlemen, a woman was preening her 9-year-old son. Mainly she was concerned about the cold sore on his lip. The guy with the magazine, recognizing mom's distress, whipped out his tube of "extra-strength" Carmex. He squeezed out a line on his finger and shared it with the woman.

Gratefully, she applied it to her son's swollen lip.

Now THAT'S passenger cooperation.

Now the focus shifts to capital cash

We all boarded our usual buses and trains today at the same fare we paid last week. Doomsday was averted.

But in fact, for every mile we ride on the old buses and roll past rail tracks in need of upgrade, we inch closer to another Doomsday. That's why we need to solve the crisis of capital spending for the CTA.

An estimated $6.3 billion in capital repairs and upgrades remains unfunded in the CTA's five-year capital improvement budget. Current spending is pegged at $2.4 billion. which is set aside to fix slow zones, overhaul and replace the fleet, make general repairs, and complete the Brown Line expansion.

Unfunded projects in the $6.3 billion include track and track bed renewal, replacement of subway lighting and ventilation systems, viaduct repairs, and station upgrades.

Obviously, the need is great, and the task is daunting. But we have to keep up the pressure on both state and federal legislators. We avoided one Doomsday. Let's not face another.

Budget source: CTA President's 2008 Budget Recommendations